Pak court adjourns hearing on appeal against bail to Lakhvi

Islamabad, Feb 3: A Pakistani court for the second time in as many weeks adjourned the hearing today on government's appeal against Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's bail in the 26/11 case.

LeT operations commander Lakhvi, 54, was summoned by the Islamabad High Court's two-member bench headed by Justice Shaukat Siddiqui on January 6 to appear before it on the government's appeal against his bail in the 26/11 case.

Last week also the hearing in the case was adjourned without any progress in the case.

"Today no proceedings in the government's plea against bail to Lakhvi were held as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) took up the case of Mumtaz Qadri, the policeman who killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer, in its place," Prosecution Chief Chaudhry Azhar told PTI.

Azhar, who is also a special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency, said the next hearing of the case would be fixed by the court office. Asked about reports saying that the prosecution had requested for a 'day to day' hearing in the case of government's appeal against bail to Lakhvi, Azhar said that they had made no such request and if they do so it will be in the Mumbai attacks trial and not in this case.

Azhar said the FIA had requested day-to-day hearing in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case. "In Lakvi's bail case, the court has served the notice to Lakhvi through Adiala Jail superintendent for arguments," he said.

On December 18, 2014, an anti-terrorism court granted bail to Lakhvi, who was involved in planning, financing and executing the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.

The Pakistani government, however, detained him the next day under MPO but IHC Judge Qureshi suspended Lakhvi's detention due to "weak legal ground".

Just before he was to be released from Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, Lakhvi was arrested on charges of kidnapping an Afghan national named Muhammad Anwar Khan.

Last week Lakhvi got bail from a local court of Islamabad in the abduction case. The government has challenged the trial court's decision to grant Lakhvi bail in Mumbai terror attack case in the IHC.

It has also extended Lakhvi's detention under MPO till February 18. Lakhvi and six others -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum -- have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attacks in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

PTI